More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

MUMBAI – Benchmark equity indices closed higher for the third consecutive session Thursday as shares of metal companies and public sector enterprises rose ahead of the Union Budget, due Sunday. The recent rise in domestic indices can be largely attributed to a pre-Budget rally, analysts said.

 

The Nifty 50 settled at 25418.90 points, up 76.15 points or 0.3%. The BSE Sensex closed at 82566.37 points, up 221.69 points or 0.3%. Indices opened lower, mirroring losses in their Asian peers after the US Federal Reserve left its lending rates unchanged, putting a pause to the rate-easing cycle. The 50-stock index had been lower for the majority of the session but gained in the final two hours of trade.

 

Analysts expect the upcoming Budget to continue with current policies and not introduce any major changes. Gains were limited as foreign portfolio investors have been trimming their positions due to depreciation in the rupee, according to analysts. 

 

Foreign investors remain cautious and are not jumping into Indian markets as there is some scepticism around earnings recovery and an overarching worry over the rupee, Emkay Global Financial Services said in a research report. The caution will persist until there are signs of a recovery, probably when the India-US trade deal is signed, Emkay Global said. On Thursday, the rupee ended at a record closing low of 91.9550 against the dollar.

 

Metal companies gained the most among constituents of the Nifty 50 index. Tata Steel finished as the top performer on the index, up over 4%. Hindalco Industries and JSW Steel closed over 1% and 2% higher, respectively. Outside the Nifty 50 constitutents, National Aluminium Co. closed nearly 6% higher and Hindustan Copper surged 20%. Shares of Hindustan Copper have almost doubled in two months amid a surge in copper prices.

 

Demand for copper has gone up in recent times due to constrained supply from major copper mines, replacement of silver to copper in data centres, and tariff-related issues, according to Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Advisory. The Nifty Metal index ended at its highest levels yet, up over 3% at 12478.05 points.

 

Larsen & Toubro ended nearly 4% higher after Nuvama Institutional Equities and Emkay Global Financial Services raised their target price on the stock by 4% and 9%, respectively, citing strong order inflow visibility. The engineering major reported a 4% on-year decline in its net profit for the reporting quarter to INR 32.15 billion, below analysts' estimates. However, had the company not incurred a one-time cost of INR 17.91 billion, its net profit would have risen to INR 50.06 billion, beating the Street estimate comfortably.

 

Meanwhile, Asian Paints closed at the bottom of the Nifty 50, down nearly 4%. SBI Life Insurance Co. closed almost 3% lower. Emkay Global Financial Services has raised the company's target price by 7% to INR 2,450 to factor in higher distributions and sustained performance.  

 

Among Nifty 200 companies, shares of ABB India closed 8.5% higher after NDTV Profit reported that the parent company ABB Global's order inflow for India operations grew 49% on year in the December quarter, higher than analyst estimates. Meanwhile, shares of KPIT Technologies closed nearly 6% lower after the company's consolidated net profit for the December quarter fell marginally on year to INR 1.33 billion and both its bottom line and revenue missed the Street's expectations. Shares of Canara Bank closed nearly 5% lower despite the company's net profit estimates topping Street estimates. The bank's net interest margin was down 5 basis points on quarter at 2.45%.

 

Among Nifty 500 companies, shares of GE Venova T&D India ended nearly 9% higher after the company's bottom line for the December quarter rose to INR 2.91 billion, higher than the 2.62 billion expected by analysts. Meanwhile, shares of Five-Star Business Finance closed 11.5% lower after the company's net profit for the December quarter rose just 1% on year and missed analysts' estimates. Brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services expressed concerns about the continued asset quality deterioration.

 

Barring Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, most other automobile companies closed in the red amid fears of increased competition from automobile players after India and the European Union concluded its free trade agreement, under which India has offered to ease tariffs on cars from EU. The proposed India-EU agreement meaningfully lowers import duties only for a narrow set of models, largely concentrated in the premium segments, Kotak Securities said in a research report. Structural constraints such as limited dealer reach, timely availability of parts and higher ownership costs will restrict EU original equipment manufacturers' competitiveness, the brokerage said.

 

All major pharmaceutical companies closed lower with shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Max Healthcare Institute, and Cipla closing 0.5–1.3% lower.  

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 23 rose, 26 fell, and 2 were unchanged

* Of the Sensex stocks, 13 rose and 17 fell

* On the NSE, 1,379 stocks rose, 1,821 fell, and 103 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 1,672 stocks rose, 2,599 fell, and 118 were unchanged

* Nifty Metal: up 3.1%; Nifty Energy: up 1.9%; Nifty Healthcare: down 1.0%

---

BSE                                                 NSE

Sensex: 82566.37, up 221.69 points or 0.3%          Nifty 50: 25418.90, up 76.15 points or 0.3%

---

S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	: Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	: 2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	: 2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 81537.70 (Jan. 23)	: 2026 Closing Low: 25048.65 (Jan. 23)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 81124.45 (Jan. 21)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 24919.80 (Jan. 21)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	: 2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

 

End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.